AB 1749: Whistleblower Protection
This bill gives employees of the Judicial Branch the same level of protection against retaliation for reporting wrongdoing as is currently afforded to other employees of the state bureaucracy. There are about 22,000 employees in this branch, and any one of them should be encouraged to shine a light on waste or abuse in this $3.7 billion branch of state government.
AB 1971: UC/CSU Affinity Partnerships
This bill allows UC and CSU affinity partnerships with commercial vendors to continue for five more years. By doing so, UC and CSU can continue to seek private funding for public universities.
AB 2067: Residential Access
This bill would allow the City of Long Beach to adopt parking regulations, supported by an engineering study, so that residents of tiny dead end streets can park on either side of the street, a common practice which is currently against the law.
AB 2170: Drug Tiering
This bill prohibits health plans from raising out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs during the contract term, which is typically a year. That means that if the insurance company says you will pay a certain amount for a particular medicine, it has to honor that price for the entire contract term. This will ensure continuity of care and protect consumers from unexpected increases in out-of-pocket costs.
AB 2199: Repeal of Discriminatory Language
This bill strikes out a section of the California Welfare and Institutions code that requires mental health officials to find the “causes and cures of homosexuality.” That law was written in 1950. AB 2199 would strip that discriminatory language from that law books.
AB 2234: Mental Health Services for Older Adults
AB 2234 will make it easier for older adults to get the mental health services they need. It does this by reworking eligibility rules so that the state’s Mental Health Services Act is more in line with the real needs of older people who often need physical and mental health services at the same time.
AB 2292: Pharmacy Permits
This bill would cut through a peculiar knot of bureaucratic red tape that makes it nearly impossible for many Ambulatory Surgical Clinics (ASC) to obtain pharmacy permits. Without these state-provided permits, these surgical centers can’t dispense the medicine their patients need. This bill seeks to bridge the gap between two state licensing agencies, the Department of Public Health and the Board of Pharmacy.
AB 2380: Child Abuse Reporting
This bill clarifies the definition of “reasonable suspicion” for mandated reporters of child abuse. It also puts in plain English that mandated reporters can act on information from a third party. This will address concerns from the Los Angeles City Attorney that many mandated reporters sometimes are too hesitant in reporting suspected child abuse.
AB 2435: MFT Elder Abuse Training
Mental health care providers are key to stopping elder and dependent adult abuse and helping families in crisis. This bill requires MFTs, psychologists, LCSWs, and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors to have training on the recognition and reporting of suspected elder and dependent adult abuse.
AB 2543: Improving the Charter School Renewal Timeline
This bill will establish a timeline for local districts and county offices of education to decide whether or not to approve charter renewal petitions. Parents will be able to plan out which school to enroll their children, and charter school employees will not have to wait until the last minute to know whether or not they will keep their jobs.
AB 2590: Eliminating Barriers to Care for AIDS Patients on Medi-Cal
AB 2590 will help more Medi-Cal patients with HIV/AIDS get the care they need and avoid costly hospitalizations. This bill removes barriers to providing disease management services while maintaining patient privacy protections.
AB 2629: Residential Care Facilities
This bill will provide the same bedridden clarification given to residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) in AB 762 from 2009 to the other residential care facilities licensed by the Department of Social Services. AB 2629 replicates the language in place for RCFEs that specifies the circumstances under which bedridden individuals are allowed in residential care settings, and the appropriate fire clearances for non-ambulatory residents vs. bedridden residents.
AB 2663: Long Beach Budget Year
This bill seeks to bridge the gap between the state’s budget year which runs from July through June, and the federal budget year that runs from October to September. In general, this gap doesn’t matter much. But for five California cities, including Long Beach, it becomes a problem when the state borrows local money. AB 2663 says the state needs to take these cities’ budget years into account if and when it withholds or borrows money from them.
AB 2706: Violence Against the Homeless
Violence against the homeless has substantially risen over the past decade. This bill would specify that a homeless person has the civil right to be free from violence or intimidation, and, most importantly, it says that if they are attacked simply for being homeless, they would be able to sue their aggressor for enhanced civil damages. It shifts the cost of protecting the homeless onto the backs of those who would seek to harm them.
AB 2726: Real-World Job Training
All construction job training programs are not created equal. Some training programs available through the Workforce Investment Act put participants on a quicker path to a good-paying job than others. AB 2726 says that placing participants in an accredited apprenticeship program is the quickest route to a livable wage and a lasting career. It requires Workforce Investment Boards to do just that.
AB 2747: Prison Cost-Savings: Pharmacy Services
This bill seeks to save about $30 million a year by require CDCR to use formularies, use generic medications when possible, and work with the Board of Pharmacy to create regulations that would ease the cost of administering medications in the prison system. This bill codifies current practices put in place by the federal receiver so that these policies remain in place once the prison healthcare system is no longer under federal receivership.
